Sanctuary in the Harem?
by TsuchiNoOkamiHime
Summary: Sheik's life has been horrific, from serving in a bloody war, to being enslaved and then sold as a sex slave. His life is taking a turn, for better or worse, in his 'owner's' sanctuary. Warning: Yaoi, Gore, Violence, Rape. No 3somes or moresomes though.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay this is my first Zelda fanfiction and only my second story so... keep that in mind while reading. I do encourage flames on my writing style, plot, etc. but not on silly things such as Sheik's gender or this being a gay story, because this story is a FANfiction. And it is obviously an AU.

Now, I'd like to thank my friend Mr. J for reading this (though not proof reading ;) and yelling at me to, and I quote, "Make moar!!" XD I really do appreciate people yelling at me to finish things, it gives me the incentive, ya know? *Disregard the Wakka/Raiken(or whatever his name is) catchphrase*

Anyway, this is an unusual story, even by my standards... it is rated MATURE for a reason though, so if you do not feel like you can deal with adult situations, thoughts, events, etc. please hit the 'back' button on your browser. Also, do not take this story at face value, I tried to sneak a few things in here and there for the attentive reader to find. The story IS set in first person from Sheik's point of view, unless I decide that there will be a change of view (of which I'll inform you of the switch) but I do not plan to have this story be a p.o.v flip-flop RP style fanfiction.

I'm sorry if Sheik seems OOC, but truthfully, you don't see much of him in the only game he's ever been in, he has maybe 20 minutes of screen time with his long speeches and taking the time to play the song and listen to him and Link rock out with their instruments of manliness. I've often seen Link and Sheik potrayed as damsels, and while I'll admit that I'm a sucker for a good fluffy Shink fic anyday, I do wonder where the warrior spirit goes sometimes... so, while Sheik can be calm and stonic, he is also a fighter, and I personally think he'd have a hell of a fiery spirit in battle.

DISCLAIMER: The characters in this story belong to Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo, not me, any characters that I have made up/inserted in the story are only minor and I don't care what you do with them. The plot and ideas used for this story's plotline were made by me. Don't sue me, please?? :'D

ENJOY~!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PageBreak whut?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sanctuary in the Harem

Chapter 1: Wild Cat in the Cradle

I remember the first time I came to the sanctuary, at the time I had thought of it as any other outsider would... and should, because it was a hidden place of reprieve from the harsh outside world that had left many of the inhabitants of the grand estate scarred and in the process of being... well, 'healed' wouldn't quite fit considering none of the occupants of palace-like house would ever be the same as they were before the events that had possibly ruined their lives. No, they could never truly be 'healed' but after their stay in the sanctuary, whether it be a year or 20, they could move on from their pasts, learned from what had happened to them, to use this experience and take control of their life, to make it prosperous and to enjoy the destiny the Goddesses had given them.

Of course, at the time prior to my admittance, I had highly doubted the existence of said deities, since my life had utterly, irrevocably, without a doubt of my being... sucked. It was quite simple really, after all, there was quite the list of reasons why my mere mortal speck was accursed and any chances of a lovely life were squashed. Firstly, my race was that of the 'damned' Shadow Folk, the Sheikah, to add to this, I was _male_. The second point is that, by being a Sheikah male, I was doomed to genes that... effeminate men, in short, my looks were doomed to that of a woman, despite my efforts in training my body to the brink of exhaustion to gain muscle, the little I gained was compact, partially hidden under a thin layer of fat that softened my outline.

Thirdly, as a member of the forsaken race I had not the slightest idea of why we were 'forsaken' despite maybe our odd eye color, perhaps it made the wonderful, perfect, goddess-grown Hylians cower as they were the color of blood. After all, the little bit I did know about my culture was that it was both tribal (having apparently been an offshoot of the Gerudo race some millenniums ago) and that the Sheikah race were natural fighters, being a war-like society with strict social structures and codes, of course, not much of these codes, regulations and "perfect killing machines" were alive anymore, constant war having killed most of my abstracted brethren. I pitied them, having died in such a useless thing as war, war that I had nearly been killed in as well. This brings me to my fourth reason for my life being in the terrible state it was to warrant my sending to that asylum of a sanctuary, I was rare. And I was to be sold as a slave, either I was to be owned by some aristocratic prick Hylian who wanted to flaunt having a rare species as a servant, or a bodyguard, perhaps even a lowly field worker...... or owned by the less than pleasant wealthy criminals and thugs that ventured the dusty half old, half-new and under construction slave market... and normally these people went in with the mindset of buying a sex slave.

Of course I hoped that it would be the first, despite my general dislike of the Hylian race, I would rather be subjected to my pride being injured temporarily than to be _defiled _by the riffraff scumbags that littered the remnants of the old palace, which was now used as the grand hall for the more expensive slaves to be walked up the long path, which used to be carpeted in a grand red trail towards the dais, where the throne used to hold the king, the marble floors and walls sparkling in grays and whites. Now all that was left was the cracked and aged marble walls that were worthless, the marble floor tiles had been dug up long ago, even the tiny tiles of mosaics had been ransacked after the coup de' tat 100 years ago, the grout still remained though, a testament to what had once been. And currently I stood off to the left side of the grand hall, chained to the floor and in line with the other slaves of one particular slave seller who owned us, how I **detested** the man... I had often filled the gaps of nothingness with thoughts of killing him and escaping with the other slaves when we had neither work to do, nor errands, or 'training' as they called the skewed attempts to get misbehaving slaves to be obedient like hounds, some slaves even were trained in the arts of pleasuring rapists... it was disgusting to hear and watch, trying not to get involved and trying to ignore what was going on, to remain in the corner, hoping not to receive the same training.

I smirked internally of the memory of the 'man' off several feet to my left who had tried to tame my warrior spirit, to turn me into the dog of some aristocratic wench. The henchmen he had sent in to restrain me prior to the "lesson" as he had dubbed it, had to be helped limp out of the tent the slaves and me were kept in, one had his eyes gouged out by my nails that I had grown out and somewhat shaped/filed for that purpose, among others, he had also had his right knee knocked in, while the other had a broken nose, and a fractured pelvis (and a bent penis). The man would have whipped me had I not been a rare slave, and any harm to my body would lower my price substantially. Instead, others were raped and went through the 'lesson' while I was forced to watch, listen and "learn" to be a top of the line concubine. Those slaves had been sold shortly after, before I could apologize to them somehow, not that they would accept it... or could, the life which had barely been in their eyes to begin with had disappeared afterwards....

I sent a not-so-subtle glare at the man, imagining multiple ways of torturing him before killing him, my exposure to life in war giving me almost endless possibilities to entertain my mind in a sick fashion. Eventually though, I snapped out of my bloodlust, and vengeful thinking, focusing on the task at hand: the escape I had been planning for weeks. I watched that wretched man as his beady eyes flicked over the other sellers and the large swarm of people standing in the hall, eyes following the "competition" as slaves were walked up one by one to the dais to be displayed fully in front of the crowd. Most of the viewers were common folk, hoping to get to see the "well mannered" slaves that were dressed richly and ornately to be sold to the handfuls of nobles, thugs and rich slave-owners who sat separated from the rabble by thick velvet ropes and a solid line of personal bodyguards, most of which probably had been bought here. I continued looking lamely over the crowd my nose twitching slightly as I had the urge it scratch my cheek, unable to reach up with my hand because of my restraints.

Unlike the other slaves my will and fiery spirit had maintained during my enslavement, I could even go so far to say that I had even become more spirited after seeing lights fade one by one from the pairs of eyes around me, all shades of blues, purples, browns and even a couple greens. But I was the only one with red eyes that continued to spew life, and I'd be damned if I let these bastards or any bitch to take that inner fire from me, it had kept me going through the war, and it would keep me going as a waltzed out of this place and started a new, free life. Of course, the first step would to get out of the numerous bindings on me... I had a thick belt around my narrow hips it had multiple metal rings, two of which were interlinked with metal claps connected to thick silk ropes which bound my hands in a bent, uncomfortable binding to my sides, hands unable to move much in the rope handcuffs that didn't leave marks unlike their metal cousins. The metal lock which held the belt snugly against my hips was at the base of my back, which would make it even harder to undo... on either side of the lock were two metal rings which held a chain which connected to a padded collar that fit snugly around my neck, the opaque veil I wore to cover my face brushing over the soft leather, and a wondered momentarily how many slaves had worn it for it to be so broken in to not rub and leave a mark.

But the point of the collar connecting to the belt at the back seemed to be to keep me from leaning down to try and free my feet, as the chain had been adjusted to were it was short enough to make me have to arch backwards slightly to avoid chocking myself. The bindings around my feet were silk rope as well, to avoid chaffing when I was walked up to the dais I supposed. Another slave went up for auction, the previous one being sent to a room off to the side that had probably once been a guest room for some ambassador but was now a waiting room for the slave until the seller and buyer exchanged money and ownership, after which the slave would be taken away... I glanced to my left again to see that the group of high class slaves I was part of was soon to go on for auction as the beady eyed man started barking orders at his workers, who started to shift the line of slaves into position, the first one in line being unhitched from the rope chain that bound all our feet together. This one had no other bindings beside the ones on her feet; obviously she was a 'pet' type...

I sourly noted that I was the last in line, the supposed "crown jewel" of the group.... I was highly decorated, my hair which had been grown out as I had no instrument to cut the waist length hair with (not that that horrendous man that was watching me carefully would let me cut it, as it added to my "beauty") had been tied in a high knot on the back of my head, glass beads woven into my hair with little strings with tinier glass beads hanging from them to swing around when I turned my head. A small brooch had been pinned into the tanned leather string that held my long hair up, it felt heavy and annoyed me to no end as it felt they were dressing me up as a Gerudo woman... not to mention that the gauzy pants I wore were hardly made for escape as I both felt like a jester, swamped in fabric, and a whore because the pants were very drafty. Thankfully towards mid thigh the fabric lost its see-through qualities and covered me properly, though it stuck close to my skin leaving little to be imagined, the sheer amount of intricate embroidery both sickened me and pleased me in that once I busted out of this hell I would be set for a good time after selling the ridiculous clothing.... and shoes, I didn't even want to think about the pinch-y monstrosities that I would most likely kick off and run rather than deal with the aggravation the ornamented hell-derived accessory would deal during my escape.... which was coming closer and closer as each slave before me was walked up the dais and sold.

I relaxed my muscles as another slave was taken up and sold, systematically went through each step, how I would go about breaking free, dash through the right side exit/entrance, how I would have to charge quickly through the crowd, not stopping for anyone, to push as many people out of my way and to topple others to slow any and all pursuers, it was a 120 foot dash from the dais to the arch, I would have to be at my fastest so that extra guards could not be called. Hopefully I'd be able to slit that bastard's neck open before stealing out of here, to the harbor where I'd sneak aboard and stow away, it didn't matter where the boat went as long as it went somewhere.

I stared impassively ahead as the squat man waddled over, his robes dragging slightly behind him, obviously built for a taller, leaner male than he. I thought again over how a longed for the adrenaline to kick in, to give me the drive to kill as many of the rabble here on my exit to cause turmoil and cover my escape. The man was talking about my worth, how my "exotic beauty" was sure to charm the buyers into forking over big rupees, and how those buyers that had gathered seemed even more "interested" in my fiery nature, I mentally gagged as he briefly looked me up and down lecherously. He made a motion to touch me and quick as a whip a jump back away from him, snarling and glaring at him for all my worth as the two slaves next to me stumbled and fell over from the quick movement that had disturbed our foot bindings that were long enough to walk in but not enough to run in. I glanced over at the guards that the auction had provided in addition to the seller and buyers, they had swords, perfect. The man smirked again, having noticed that my action had cause some of the buyers near us to glance over to see the ruckus, the buyers in front of them turning around as well to see what they were looking at. My "owner" seemed highly pleased with this, and I suppose for this he didn't make a fuss over the two slaves to my left that had to be helped up. The one in the front was untethered before being escorted up the walk to the dais, one guard in front 3 paces, the other behind 3 paces. I shifted my shoulders, cracking them slightly at the uncomfortable backbend I was still bound in, waiting as the announcer garbled away in the Hylian tongue faster than I could translate in my head, Sheikah was after all my native language, I had only learned a bit of Hylian before I was drafted...

The garbling seemed to end with a shout of some large some of rupees, somewhere near 2 million or other. Money never held much value to me, if I needed food or water I went out and found it in nature, but here... in this kingdom money was everything, the life blood, of which I had none, and wanted for none, "Endless money forms the sinews of war" as the Sheikah saying goes.

As the slave next to me was unhitched I again systematically stilled and relaxed my body, ignoring everything around me except for the two sets of heavy boots as the bad their way to stand on either side of me, hands grabbing the chains that were connected to my collar and belt. I heard the beady-eyed slave owner warble something or other about "Treat the fragile merchandise carefully!" I had half a mid to just laugh in the man's face, I maybe effeminate, but fragile? No. Hell no. I couldn't help the smirk that twisted my mouth upwards, the veil covering most of it, obscuring the image of my face from the bridge of my nose down. A third guard approached with what was basically a leash and clamped it on to the collar, locking it into place with a key he had. A great clap echoed through the hall as the second to last slave was sold. Almost time...

The spokesperson at the front right of the dais started charting off what I assumed were my stats, such as weight, height, race, gender, age, etc. He also included details such as my lack of scars except for my tribal tattoos which marked my status in the nearly non-existent Sheikah society. He even included the locations of said markings, on my biceps, back, top of my thighs and around my navel. The feeling of disgust and nausea came roaring back as I could feel hundreds of eyes roaming over my form, only a few staying on my bare torso. My owner walked behind the guards that kept firm hands on the chains, the awkward situation making me have to walk with my chest pushed out slightly, by butt raised from the chains lifting the belt which was anchored to the lips of my pants. I dully remembered that they had to drug me in order to get me into the ornate clothing, and restraints, as well as to give the woman that came in to braid my hair time to work. I still retained some motor functions despite the toxin in my body, though I wasn't very coordinated. Most drugs did not work on me, giving that during my training I was given small amounts of numerous drugs over a long period of time, making myself immune to them, it came in handy given that the wretched man standing off to my right hadn't found that drug in time to basically rape me... instead the fact that I had not been broken in was added to the list of my good qualities.

The guards clapped hands on my shoulders as I was walked up the steps on the dais and then turned around to face the crowd, I kept my eyes trained on the center of the rabble, not making a move to alert the guards as the buyers along the walkway cried out prices, the more dignified buyers settling for a small nod, to which a servant would yell for his master. I settled myself again, my ankle joints and wrist joints loosed up just enough.... and then my body seized up, giving a loud gasp I fell sideways, unable to catch myself as I fell in a heap on the dais, head smacking soundly on the stone. Cursing slightly in my head, I again focused on relaxing my body, making it seem like I had fainted or had knocked myself unconscious. I heard the fat man behind me make indignant sounds about "This has never happened before!! It's your fault if his price goes down!!" he was roaring and making such a distraction to the guard, one which turned to restrain him while one of the other guards gripped the chains on my back, the third turning me to examine the head wound that was bleeding. I could hear them muttering nonchalantly, my head buzzing while I calmed it down, my mind readying for the quick signals I had to send to my body.

I snapped my eyes open, adrenaline kicking in as I threw my legs up and over my head, smirking as the flexible muscles of my back stretched past the restraints, knocking the two men crouching above me to the ground. I had managed to hit the one of my left behind the ear, upsetting his inner ear and balance as he staggered and fell down the steps of the dais. I kicked my shoes off as fast as I could, my right wrist popping out of place so I could wrench it out of the binding, popping it back into place as the second guard regained his composure, disappointing me when he only drew a small thin rod, to use as a club. He raised the small club, bringing it down in a diagonal sweep as he aimed to knock me unconscious, I waited for the last possible moment before bending out of the way, feet still planted firmly in place, unfortunately still bound. With a quick swipe of my fingers I slashed at his eyes, smirking in grim satisfaction as one started to bleed profusely, the man covered the eye with one hand as he staggered back, the singing of steel being pulled from a sheath alerted me as I twisted around and jumped backwards, my eyes drawn instantly to the blade of the third guard that had just missed my calf, but had instead sliced cleanly through the rope restraints around my ankles. Tucking and rolling I spun around, carrying the momentum in my right leg, already anticipating the second guard with the damaged eye that I ended up kicked halfway across the dais, rolling across the steps to join the unconscious first guard at the bottom.

In those few seconds shouts had raged across the hall as people either surged forward to get a better look at the Sheikah slave fighting off the armed guards or to run away from him.... me. The third guard again came at me and with my feet freed I easily sent a high kick to his jaw, either breaking it or displacing it, he dropped his sword as he yelled in pain, probably causing himself more pain in the process of yelling as I snatched the sword, decapitating him quickly before turning, to look at where my "owner" stood, quite possibly defecating on himself. While I had wanted to savor the moment of killing him, time was of the essence and I settle for disembowelment, relishing in the scream of pain and blood flowing from wound and mouth alike before whipping around as more guards were called. I swore under my breath, running across the platform and jumping smoothly down to the stone floor below, muttering to myself in my native tongue as I usually did when things turned nasty.

I left a trail of boddies and blood behind me as I sliced the collar and belt off of my form, tugging at the belt in frustration as it seemed co-joined to the pants I wore, I settled for hacking the metal links just above the sturdier ones connected to the belt. It was an odd position to be hacking at something behind my back while I eyed the guards yelling for reinforcements and watching them make their way towards me, drawing their swords as the second link finally gave way and the heavy collar and chains fell in pile on the ground. Three guards charged at me, swords drawn while 4 others started to spread out. I dispatched the three in front quickly enough, I was made to kill, and with the adrenaline in my system I felt invincible. Two more fell. 3 more. 5 more. 1 more. I hacked my way through the slave auction's hired guards, the spokesperson himself having fled as soon as the first guard had been sent tumbling down the stairs. The crowd screamed, all parties now surged backwards, cramming the exits and making it impossible for escape through the thick crowds whilst more soldiers were called.

Adrenaline kept pumping through my system, more and more, as I lost sense of myself, charging my way towards and through the crowd heading to the nearest exit, the crowd pushing away from me, making the columns of people ahead thicken, some people falling and being trampled to death by the panicked flock. The people I got close to and passed turned around and ran in the other direction, making it harder for my pursuers to follow as a path through the people in front of me realized that they could not get through the door and instead flung themselves in every which direction away from me. My bare feet pounded against the dull grey stone, the pads of them still hard from ears wearing the thin-soled stealth boots I had often traversed in during the wars 6 years ago... the memory of slinking through shadows with my small squad to terminate a target of opposing reinforcement troops, it had been storming and the group of thirty had been wearing long cloaks to shield them from the rain while they checked on the cannon's gunpowder and took rounds on watch. It had made them easier to kill as they hunched to keep water from their eyes and face, leaving their backs vulnerable. 34 fell easily, but the last one, the commander was no where to be found... as leader of my assassination squad, I had been punished for that failure... the memory still grated on my nerves for having lost track of the man in the slaughter of his men...

... and it seemed like my memories had come to life as I neared the exit, dispatching 4 more guards that were on my tail, spinning around quickly to continue on my way as the crowd parted, running for other exits. There, in the middle of my path to the door were two figures, one on the left was female, silver hair pulled in to a ponytail despite her young appearance, her red eyes bore into mine as my legs continued to move on auto-pilot, closing the 30 feet between me them. She was obviously Sheikah and a slave if the black collar around her neck was any indication, leaving the broad-shouldered figure standing next to her as her owner. I let a Sheikah war-cry tear through my throat as I charged the cloaked male, my conscious noting the cloak that was as familiar as my body tensed, ready for a brutal blood bath and the freeing of my brethren. I was a mere 3 feet away, and I changed my course abruptly, hoping to surprise the man and slit his throat from behind. Instead, with speed even greater than mine, he sidestepped behind me as I circled him, grabbing my arms and twisting them behind my back, one leg sweeping my own from beneath me, leaving my on my knees, disarmed (he had wrenched the sword out of my hands when he twisted my arms) and standing firmly with the toes of his boots on the pads of my upturned feet to keep me from running or trying to fight back. I struggled with his grip, growling sharply under breath while he just calmly kneeled, his shins pinning my calves, his cloaked torso pressed against my bare back as he muttered in my own native tongue, a slight Hylian accent tugging at the corners of the short phrase: _"Obey and you'll be safe."_

I hissed, I was angered at the damned Hylian dirtying my people's language by using it, and I started to struggle more against him while he gave a heavy sigh, the warm breath sliding quickly over the back of my bejeweled ears, making them twitch at the weird sensation. While I had been preoccupied with trying to escape and kill the man behind me, the few guards that were left had approached, swords still drawn and warily eyeing the vial and needle the Sheikah woman held in her hands.... which I had apparently missed in the struggle, and said needle which I assumed had been dipped in the liquid, was getting very, very close to my neck. I tensed up and tried to wiggle free any part of my body to break free and escape, unbelievably angered at the seeming betrayal of my own kin, I growled at her in our language, cursing her as the man behind me held my arms with one hand, the other coming around to curl around my chest. It felt like and iron bar was holding me in place while the woman quickly grabbed my neck in a vice grip, holding me still while the needle pierced my skin and seemed to embed itself through muscle and into bone. Whatever she had soaked it in kicked in fast as I could feel the adrenaline start to lose its power, I became more aware of my labored breathing and muscles that ached from lack of use over the year of my imprisonment. My breath hitched as I became aware of the pain that the adrenaline had blotted out, my sides were stitches, my hands and forearms trembled from hacking away guards, my calves and feet prickled from the lose of circulation that resulted from the man basically hog-tying me. Had my body really declined this much in barely over a year?

Apparently, as I lost control of my muscles, my extremities already feeling useless as the man stood, dragging me up with him and hands never breaking the grip he had on them. My concentration was fading as I blinked wearily, looking off to my right where the fleeing citizens had halted in the doorway barely 25 feet away to stare at the scene. My vision swam, the figures blurring into colors as I heard the woman's voice to my left speaking about my dead owner and the slave price. My hearing remained a little longer than my sight, my head lolling as my arms were released, instead, I was hefted up, I could feel the small dents and points of armor, and the muttering of gruff Hylian voices as I was carried over what I assumed was one of the guards shoulders, like a sack of potatoes. I heard the female's voice again, clear, crisp and authoritative as the feeling in all my arms and legs left me, my tongue feeling dry and too big for my mouth as my hearing started to wavering in and out, sounds intelligible and too slurred to make out as I was lifted and placed into something, it was at least padded and I curled on myself as much as possible as my hearing went out and my already dark world drifted into that of unconsciousness.

I'll take this moment of my unconscious state to say that I often did not get sleep often in the last year, for numerous reasons like the uncomfortable situation of being in a large group of people in a small room, the possibility of being drugged or tied up and violated while asleep, or the fact that the only fond memories I had were of my very young childhood, or those that I had concocted to fill in the blanks of my memory that my mind had just decided to white out. Regardless, the drugged induced sleep was dreamless and I merely floated along in nothingness, with out a care in the world, and not even aware of my state of health in the real world. It was warm, soft and safe, it felt like I was back in my mother's arms, only more intimate, if I had ever had one, then I could have said it was like being in the arms of a lover. Instead I just mulled over the self-created memories of my mother, after all, she had died giving birth to me, and the woman I imagined her as was probably better than the truth anyway.

And I was content to just stay like this forever, to not worry over my petty life if it weren't for this small tingling ring around the base of my neck, it was so annoying, back me toss and turn in discontent as I cold feel the subtle warmth fade to searing heat, muscles that I hadn't been aware of in the nothingness tensing as I felt the memory of what had happened, being sold out by a fellow general, being enslaved for a year, the long ship ride to the shoreline and over the mountain pass to end up in this country's capital for sale, to get so close to freedom only to be denied it in the last few feet... drugged by a member of my own race, carried off and.... and what?

My surroundings lightened as I stared at the back of my eyelids for a moment before blinking as I adjusted to the change in light, I was in a room, on a bed, it was dark, the curtains over the windows around the circular room closed securely, only a few slivers of gold light seeping in from the windows on the left side of the room.

I felt like I had been out drinking the whole night, my body stiff and sore, bile rising in my throat as I quickly examined myself, I had been changed into loose white garments and while I was glad that I was at least clothed, I still shifted about, sighing with a bit of satisfaction when no pain from my lower half traveled up my spine. It appeared that I had not been violated in that way at least... I had a few bruises here and there from my mad dash and fights with the guards, but surprisingly I had no marks around my wrists where the man had restrained me... I scoffed at the memory in my head as I refocused my thoughts, my pointed ears twitching as I glanced around my surroundings, sliding quietly out of the bed, listening for any sound as I shifted the curtain of a window aside to take in my surroundings... all my eyes met was sky and my stomach dropped as I realized I was in a tower of some sort as all the windows I glanced out of only gave me a view of the sun sinking down over the horizon and upon looking down, a 100 or more foot drop to the green grounds of a large estate. From the foot of the house (I was surprised it wasn't a castle considering the fact it had a tower or two connected to it....) leading to the first of two high fences was a narrow road that seemed to stretch through the grass plains before conjoining a bigger road off in the distance. I watched the movement below as servants milled about here and there, no set livery that I could spot from so high up, despite my good eyesight.

Sounds from below did drift up towards me as a small cloud of dust coming along the road caught my attention for a second as a rider on horseback approached the second gate to the estate, I watched as the rider dismounted, a large number of the figures below rushing to meet the figure as it walked inside the house, the horse was taken to a small building that was just between the entrance of the house and the tower I was being held in. I assumed the small building was the stables and a plan started to form in my head...

Turning back to look around the room, I searched for some entrance into the room to use as an exit as the curtains were too thick to rip without a sharp edge, the blankets on the bed wouldn't be long enough to get me to the ground even if I tied them all together. I glanced over the floor, looking for a trap door of some sort since the walls of the room were bare save for the windows. I spotted the small door just off center of the circular room's center point, trying to fit my nails into the thin space between the wooden floor and the trap door so I could pull it up, but found that my nails had been cut clean to the quick, dead flesh around the nail having been cut away. I huffed to myself as I sat behind the hinges that the door opened on, waiting for someone to come up, I'd quickly knock them out, garb their garments to perhaps disguise myself and see if I could ride out on one of the horses. I smirked as I pressed a tan ear to the floor listening carefully at the slapping of shoes on stone as someone climbed up the stairs to this room. My the light and quick steps, I assumed it was either a woman or a young boy, I sat back on my haunches, moving out of the way of the trap door lest it be thrown back and hit me in the face or toe. My thigh muscles tightened, the soreness that had been all over my body upon waking was starting to fade as I readied to spring on the person as bolts were unlocked.

"Don't ya even t'ink about it blondie!" the loud, heavily accented voice startled me slightly, since I had been the prime example of quite and laying-in-wait. But what had surprised me more than the woman's voice was that before she had even finished speaking, the trap door had been tossed open, a wooden pole snapping out of the hole, swinging sharply at my knees, I sprung from my crouched position, jumping over what I now identified as a spear giving the sharp blade lashed to the end of it. The woman stepped fully up into the room the spear twirled in her hand before she snapped it quickly to her side, the butt of the weapon thudding loudly on the wood paneling. She was obviously Gerudo, her red hair and narrowed amber eyes giving her away along with the traditional desert garb. She had a scowl on her lips as I remained crouched, slowly moving around her to find a weak point to take her weapon from her and knock her unconscious. "OI! Kid, give it a break, you ain't gettin' by me, be ya a Red 'yes or not."

Her slurred speech made it hard to discern what she was babbling about, but the term 'Red Eyes' seemed to imply my race, however childish and obvious a comment it was, and I smirked condescendingly at her grasp (or lack thereof) of linguistics. She glared sharply at me spear snapping towards me as I got to close to her it seems, as I had to back up quickly to avoid taking a blade to the jugular.

"Ya best be wiping that there smirk off your face pretty boy, 'lest I cut it off ya!" I pursed my lips and cleared the emotion off my face as I realized that I did not have any form of cowl or fabric to cover my face with. I continued pacing the semi circle around the woman testing to see how close I could get before the spear jerked in my direction, I was preparing to roll under her left arm, where there was a small gap in her jabs when the sound of another female calling up the tower alerted me to another set of feet climbing the stairs, they were lighter than the Gerudo woman's steps, and the voice was younger, lighter, that of a child... "Nabooru! You better be playing nicely with Mr. Sheikah! Impa will have a fit if you hurt him!"

I blinked owlishly as a girl bounded up the trap door with out so much of a glance to see if there was danger or not. She was... green to say the least, her clothes and even her **_hair _**was****the wretched color. I'd half expected to have a pair of green eyes staring happily at me, instead I was met by a pair of curious aqua eyes staring at me innocently as the little girl examined my defensive stance, turning with a small huff to punch the Gerudo next to her for 'Being mean to Mister Sheikah'. My head spun as I was confused as ever as to why a small girl, no doubt one of the little forest children, was doing out of the protection of their isolated forest, on some slave owners estate, arguing with a Gerudo with the same mental age as her, while completely ignoring me, the supposed 'killing machine'. My pride took a major hit with her lack of fear as she turned on her heel, running up to start chatting to me animatedly about 'sleeping the whole day away in the dark, dusty tower'.

I stared at her, my emotionless mask practically splitting in half as the girl started pulling on my hand to take me somewhere, the girl's eyes twinkling into mine as in my crouched position we were almost on the same level of sight. The Gerudo she had addressed gave a heavy sigh as she mumbled in what I supposed was her own native tongue to herself, motioning with her spear, she stepped to the side, allowing me to be lead by a little girl down the stair case my mind was hyperconscious of the tanned woman behind me, and even more of the spear head that rested on my shoulder. The two women continued to chatter on and on down the tower and when we neared the bottom of the staircase I readied myself to grab the spear, ram it into the woman's unprotected gut and make a break for the stables. The green girl still held firmly onto my hand as she opened the wooden door with ease despite its appearance of being heavy. I took a step, muscles tensing, my hand reaching for the spear but it had already jerked away, its bottom half having swung to catch the inside of my right knee, the Gerudo woman expertly snapped the spear to hit my other knee out while a hand grabbed at my neck, and object being swiftly clamped around it as she laughed heartily, speaking to the small girl that had turned to stare at me sadly. "Told ya he'd try to 'reak and run Saria~!"

The woman, Nabooru, had clamped a collar around my neck, and by the sharp tug from behind I assumed it had a leash on it as well. Great, more chains and collars... I gave a growl, unable to properly turn and kick the woman or punch her in the small hallway of the staircase, her spear nudged me in the back again as she urged my forward, the little girl sighing, grabbing my hand again to lead me towards the main house while Nabooru trailed behind me, the end of the leash secured on a metal bracelet she had on one of her wrists. I thought darkly in my head as I was lead on, 'I've just become the bitch.'


	2. Chapter 2

As requested, the second installment of _Sanctuary in the Harem?_ is now uploaded. This is the editted version by the way, as there is an explicit sex scene in this chapter and I felt that, while it was needed for the plot (as well as for the enjoyment of my (now) two friends Ms. Spider and Mr. J who wanted a lemon XD Along with an absolutely wonderful reviewer Boska.) The uneditted version is available on my deviantart account: (http :// okami-hime. deviantart. com/ art/ SITH-Ch-2- Uneditted- 132914246)

WARNING: As usual, there is strong language, adult situations etc. Gay sex in this chapter, don't like, don't look. It may be a bit confusing as to why Sheik refers to the man in the last chapter the way he does, but by the time you get to the end of this chapter, you'll figure out why.

I snuck a few OoT references in here, they are pretty blatant though. Anyway, disclaimer time: I do not own Sheik, Nabooru, Saria, etc. they belong to Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto. I'm only credited with making up a AU fan-plotline for them.

I've seen the rope connected to a horses bridle spelled as 'reign' and 'rein' I have no idea which is right....

Enjoy~!

* * *

Previously in SitH:

_The woman, Nabooru, had clamped a collar around my neck, and by the sharp tug from behind I assumed it had a leash on it as well. Great, more chains and collars... I gave a growl, unable to properly turn and kick the woman or punch her in the small hallway of the staircase, her spear nudged me in the back again as she urged my forward, the little girl sighing, grabbing my hand again to lead me towards the main house while Nabooru trailed behind me, the end of the leash secured on a metal bracelet she had on one of her wrists. I thought darkly in my head as I was lead on, 'I've just become the bitch.'_

As they walked, and I was lead, to the main house's door I glanced furtively at the other figures that were milling about, smiling, even laughing while they carried baskets of food that had just been brought from the farmer's market to the kitchen or to the storage huts, or servants carrying baskets of laundry to and fro, men dotting behind them to help take down the drying lines before night fell upon the estate. The helpers of cooks ran quickly between the small huts that were lined up in neat rows, the storage sheds, and the large cottage-sized building that I assumed was the kitchen given the numerous chimneys and the heavy smell of cooking dinner that permeated the air. I tried to block out the smell, it would be horrible to be even dragged down further in embarrassment than I already was if my stomach growled angrily.

Instead of focusing on not noticing the smell, I locked my gaze with the prancing figure of the girl dragging me by the hand to the Triad-knows-where, for some reason miffed that I had not met her expectations. I supposed it was the idea of letting an innocent down that had rattled me, 'It wouldn't have been the first or the last time though...' I thought sullenly. I spared a glance over my shoulder, coming face to face with the tip of the spear, and the red head smiling with painted lips from where she held the end of the spear and the slack of the leash at eye level. I simply turned my head away from her, straightening my posture and walking with a bit more confidence and purpose. **"I'm not a mutt." **

I spoke clearly in Sheikah, hoping the woman didn't know the language like the man from the selling hall did... I assumed he was one of the attendants to the estate, not the actual owner though, considering that by the obvious wealth of the estate's owner, he would not be bothered to travel to get a bed mate. I bristled at my own thoughts, having to school my features again as my mouth twitched, itching to pull lips back and snarl. But by now we had reached the door, which opened as some servant or other walked through it, pausing to open the door wider, holding it open for the three of us to pass. While Gorons were not a strange species to see nowadays, as they had become more sociable and maintained trade with the capital, it WAS strange to see one on the property of some high-class slave owner...

The two women that were leading me paused to chat momentarily with the large man (I assumed it was a man given I had never seen a female Goron, or if I had, then I had not noticed the difference in gender) and in this small lapse of time, I noticed the position I was in... being led by one girl in the front, leashed and walked at spear point from behind.... it was the walk up to the dais to be sold all over again... only this time instead of being sold...

I had an idea of were I was being taken now, as the sun set, dinner was soon to be served, and afterwards......

Afterwards, I'd be 'dessert'.

My eyes focused on the intricate stone vine edging on the door as the conversation drew to a close, Saria tugged on my hand and turned to stare at me quizzically, probably wondering why I didn't budge, staring off into space, legs locked even as Nabooru nudged me hard with the butt end of the spear, my body frozen up in tension to the point I barely swayed. A small stinging sensation alerted me that the sharpened blade end of the spear had pricked the back of my neck and it set off a chain reaction of events as follows: I grabbed the pole of the Gerudo's spear, thrusting the butt of it into her gut hard while my other arm lifted the small girl to my left and tossed her to the Goron, the girl giving a high pitched scream as she became airborne, but was caught by the man while I made a dash to the stables.

The horse that had just been brought in was luckily still out, the servant to the mare's right having just finished rubbing her down it seems as I leapt quickly onto the mare's back, the horse neighing loudly and rearing, nostrils flaring as the red-haired girl shouted, having to back up to escape the flailing of hooves as I clutched the mare's reigns tightly, my calves pressed to her sides as her saddle had been removed, leaving me to ride bareback on the chestnut mare as she galloped and bucked wildly. I had broken in stallions before, and though they couldn't compare to her agility and strength given the mare had the appearance of a cart horse, war horses were even harder to break... or so I thought.

The ground whizzed by as she ran on, trying to shake me off with rapid turns and stops, while the house we were quickly leaving behind was in a panic. I spurred her on, clinging to her sides and jabbing her ribs with my bare heel, encouraging her maddening pace, the inner gate getting closer and closer, there was an arch in the tall fence where two guards stood in front of the gate which was notably smaller than the surrounding fence. I uttered words of encouragement and challenges to mare that continued to zigzag wildly, occasionally bucking in the air to try and throw me off, to which I had to wrap my arms around her neck and hold on with my legs for dear life, for when we came back down to the ground my teeth rattled and the mare whinnied, before running again at full throttle, closer and closer to the gate.

We were almost there, all she had to do was jump over the gate! The gate was getting closer and closer, and I could see the guards leap out of the way of the charging horse mere meters away. And she jumped, higher than ever in her attempts to buck me off, and it was so exhilarating, the winds whipping at my long hair, making it swirl up and over my head as my loose clothing ruffled and it felt like I was flying, I was free, finally FREE! But as the mare's front hooves touched the ground on the other side of the gate, a piercing tone whistled through the air. The horse's ears immediately shot up as she ground to a stop, ears flicking as she snorted, pawing at the ground in irritation, seeming to pace this way and that, her ears still rotating around, I tried to urge her towards the next, final gate in the distance, after which she could go off wherever while I escaped, it was only one more gate for her to jump...

I yanked hard on the reigns, kneeing her, trying to get her to turn and run as the guards at the gate recovered and started shouting. I cursed lividly at the be-damned horse before deciding to hop off and run for it, she wasn't co-operating and was wasting my time. I was already shifting to throw one leg over the side to get off her when 6 quick notes pierced the air, coming from the direction of the house, and the horse whined at that, and started a dead bolt run back towards the house, I felt a half-formed scream tear at my throat as I gripped for dear life at her hair, reigns, sides whatever I could use as a grip to keep from falling off the horse and to the grass covered ground that was whizzing past even faster than when she was trying to shake me off! If I fell, I would definitely not be able to recover....

I threw my arms around her neck as she jumped back over the gate we had just cleared, making a beeline for the house. Unfortunately, when you clear a gate while riding a horse, you are supposed to lean back to keep from falling forward over the horse's neck, or to keep from smacking your face into the muscled neck and shoulders of the steed. Because of my grip around the chestnut's neck to keep from falling backwards off of her, when she thudded on the other side of the gate, my forehead collided painfully with her shoulders, making me see stars and whip backwards, my white-knuckled grip on the reigns the only thing keeping me from falling off the horse at this point and time.

My vision swam as my head pounded, I didn't dare take a hand off the reigns to check to see if there was blood or not... as the mare started to slow down I began to sway from side to side, having to blink away the blurriness to look down to my right as someone tried to take the reigns from my hand, I saw the hands connected to a red blur and reeled away from what a believed to be that desert wench, I cursed at her to get away from me, probably slipping in an obscenity about fucking herself with that spear of hers as I rambled off in Sheikah, my head pounding in agony as I heard the red and pink blur squawking. I could feel myself tipping towards the side away from her though I was probably dipping to the left too much and would soon fall off.

I felt a familiar arm wrap around my waist while a hand eased my own out of their grip on the wide leather reigns. The mare snorted and paced as I let go of them, sliding sideways even more as my head lolled, ending up on the shoulder of a man as I was lifted/slid off of the horse, before being lifted up be draped over one of his shoulders I supposed. Instead I clung to the man's front, my arm and leg muscles still tensed from the ride with the horse, and feeling jittery at the lack of something physical to hold onto. I pressed the front of my body as close as possible as I wrapped my legs around the trim waist of the man, at least he wasn't fat I mumbled to myself, my arms sliding under his own to clutch at the back of his shoulders.

The man barely tensed, and I probably rambled of 15 reasons why he shouldn't around a Sheikah warrior, my brain and mouth obviously not talking to each other as I couldn't seem to get my mouth to stop talking, the filter in my brain going haywire as I rambled on and on while I was carried, one of the Hylian's (for I assumed it was the same man that was at the hallway... he smelt the same) arms was idly scratching my scalp while the other was slipped under my rear-end, the forearm supporting me incase my legs gave out. But given the way I occasionally tightened my thigh muscles, and the quick tensing and gasping that came from the man, I believed my legs to be in fine condition.

I smirked into the man's covered neck, giving a small laugh at his uncomfortable grunt. I was elated at his vivid reactions to such simple actions and if gave me a sort of grim satisfaction to tease the man, in a place where I had little over control over what was happening to me... it then occurred to me that I should take advantage of the current situation to find some way to sneak out, it would be nightfall soon, and then it'd be harder to spot and capture me... I just wouldn't attempt riding off on a horse this time...

I craned my neck to get a look at the person holding me and as I saw them glance sideways at me, abashed.

.....I felt the need to get a drink of water hit me full force as my mouth went dry. He looked just like...

A thin blonde eyebrow was raised at my intense scrutiny of his face, a bit of color rushing to it as I straightened up in his hold around me, my arms shifting so my forearms rested on the tops of his shoulders. He gave a small cough before looking past me a bit to ask for someone to open the door, to which my ears twitched while I twisted around, noting the muscle spasm of the forearm beneath my ass as I studied the servant that stuttered at our position before opening and holding a tall door for us to pass through into what looked like a sitting room, with a simple table, couch and chairs. The door closed with a quick click and I turned to stare at the man holding me still, red eyes flashing in anger.

I tightened my grip on his shoulders, fingers digging into the green vest and white shirt he wore, hissing slightly as I glared his confused face. "Yo- you bastard! You were the one that got me into this whole mess! It's a bout time you came for me! What in the Triad's name took you so long?! Huh?! A year, a fucking YEAR. That's how long I waited for your punk ass to bust me out of that hell hole, that man could've had his way with me huh? I doubt you'd care though, Shadow. You had to wait till I was already sold to some aristocratic Hylian prick before you came to get me, geez... and your disguise isn't even that good, I seriously doubt that a magic spell to change your hair and eye color would trick many.... I mean, I recognized you...." I gave a gasp, panting and inhaling air as I finished my tirade of a speech, laying my head in the crook of his neck, sighing and relaxing, wrapping my arms around him as I gave his waist another squeeze.

During my tirade the man I thought was my lieutenant and part-time occupant of my bed roll during the war, had carried me into the next room over, I spotted the bed in the corner of the room and smirked into the cloth around his neck, pressing my body closer to his, only a simple layer of thin white cotton on my on tanned form while his were a bit more ornate, a white cuffed shirt under a sleeveless tunic that I had mistaken for a vest given the embroidery on it, thick leather boots and a pair of tights. A gave a laugh, full and uncontained given my present company. "You still take to wearing those silly tights of yours hmm Shadow? Then again, they are easier to take of than pants..."

His eyebrows shot up at that, surprise plain on his face at my comment, red dashing across the bridge of his nose, his ears even turning the color. I gave another laugh, burying my face in the side of his neck licking at the exposed underside of his jaw. He jerked at the contact, his arms for a second leaving my form as he tensed, and I was glad that I was still holding onto his form otherwise he'd have dropped me. I voice my observation with a smirk tugging at my lips as I nipped my way up his jaw line pausing to nibble his ear, I remembered he always did have sensitive ears...

And judging by the quick inhalation and arms wrapping around my hips I was correct, and his ears still remained a soft spot for him. He was unusually nervous, shifting from side to side as he shuddered slightly, head tilting away, though to give me more access or to escape I could never be quite sure. Of course, it had been a year since I had last seen him, and he'd seen me, and back then I was less... assertive. I had learned more Hylian in the hopes of being able to better communicate with him... of course he had always shoved me out of his tent once we were through but... there were moments, were he was so warm and real that made me crave to sneak back in that tent of his. And right now, as I nudged him in the butt with my feet to coax him to the bed, it felt like one of those moments where I just wanted him to be back lusting over me again. His attention alone was wanted; those of the slave sellers and riffraff meant nothing to me...

I voiced my concern over him turning me into a woman at times like these, threading one hand through his hair, my eyes turning the blonde to the usual dark black, eyes shifting from the blue of the sky to hell fire red, as he lowered me onto the bed, my mouth kissing from the tip of his ear back down and over high cheek bones and down the curves of his cheek, slipping along the dimple marks as he smiled shyly at me, eyes at half mast as our breath mingled.

The bed was soft and gave way under my back, a lot more comfortable than the previous flat surfaces we had fucked on... and as I dragged him down with me, our lower halves brushing excitedly, I couldn't help the smile that pulled at my lips and the throaty sigh that came with them, the breath I exhaled crashing over dusty lips that were opened in a dragged-out groan. My eyes drifted over his face as it flexed in elation before I leaned forward nervously, we had never kissed in our acts of lust... I had always wondered... it was barely a kiss I supposed, I was too nervous to fully attach our lips, mine ghosting over his as he breathed in shakily, both of us were tense, not sure if we were straining to keep from touching or to straining against ourselves so we could touch and feel. A low hum came from the man above me as he took charge, leaning forward completely so that our lips met and molded, pressing against each other as his hands rested on my hips, pushing them down while rubbing small circles on them through the white cloth.

As I was pinned I gave a groan into the lips above me, inviting and coaxing as my lower body steadily rose in temperature, my arms curling around his back, clawing at him to give me more. And in a way he replied eagerly, a tongue being thrust into my open lips, roaming over tooth and gum before dancing around my own, he pressed closer to me, joining my sprawl on the bed, my legs hooked around the back of his thighs as he straddled me, but kept his groin out of the reach of my own when I arched off the bed, groaning for needed friction and growling when he pushed me, albeit he somehow did it gently, back against the bed, hands clenching on the sides of my hips, kneading them while he pulled away from my mouth, instead nipping at my lips, bruising them with more kisses and licks, before he turned to my neck, one hand temporarily leaving my side to unclasp the collar that had been locked around it. My lust-filled brain barely paused to wonder where and how he got the key before he latched onto my neck biting and sucking, marking me as his in such a more permanent way than that horrendous collar and leash. The metal and leather contraption was simply tossed to the ground.

* * *

And we reclined in the pillows; my head lying over his shoulder while he ran fingers through my knotted hair, gently working the ties and twists out while scratching my scalp pleasantly. It was warm under the covers, and in his arms; the night having set well in by the time our "activities" were over. We had been too preoccupied to notice the drop in temperature, leaving us shiver and huddle closer, the heat and afterglow of sex, the gentle petting down the spine of my back... it was perfect in my mind, but my gut still twisted nervously, leaving my to press my face into his shoulder hoping he couldn't feel the very tiny droplets that fell that night. It had been the first time I cried in over 8 years, and I didn't know why the tears fell, I just squeezed my eyes further closed while listening to his heartbeat as it thumped on, steady, level, and slow, lulling me to a half-content sleep.

* * *

I awoke the next dawn to red twilight streaming through curtains and filtering onto the bed, a significant pain in my ass being present as I shifted slightly against warm flesh, going to swat the person breathing on my neck, tickling my prickled skin. I shifted very carefully, to slip out of the bed without waking my partner who snored quietly on as I slipped under his arms, replacing my body with that of a lush pillow as I backed out and off the bed, grimacing at the dried rubbery substance covering my lower abdomen and all along the insides of my thighs.

The smell of sweat and sex hung heavily in the air as I glanced around in the barely lit room, limping over to my shirt that had been flung halfway across the room; I cursed the blonde man in bed under my breath as I leaned heavily against the wall to pull on the loose material, my legs still wobbly and my butt aching, pain shooting up my spine while I pulled on the loose shirt, hands fumbling with buttons while my eyes searched the room for my pants. I breathed another curse as I undid the buttons, having skipped one in the beginning and having realized my mistake when there was one more hole left at the bottom, but no button.

I redid the buttons as my eyes caught the vibrant white of the pants, my eyes narrowing when I realized they were on the other side of the room as well, near the singular window between the door and bed. I limped across the room, not caring enough to hide the fact I'd been fucked since there was only an unconscious, disguised Shadow in the room, and I could barely hear the walking and talking of servants starting to rise. I cast a look over at the pale man in bed, still breathing deeply in sleep and I couldn't help the nervousness, the fear and for some reason... the guilt, that coiled deep in my gut, making me antsy and worry. I scowled then, having to bend over to pick up my pants and slid them on, trying to limit the number of times I needed to do the action, as it stretched sore and stiff muscles, both on the outside, along my back and on the inside where the sex was the roughest.

My spine gave several clicks as I righted myself, pulling the loose white pants up over myself, tying them tighter around my waist, noticing the bite marks that had bruised over, my fingers brushing slightly over the marks. I lifted the shirt higher, suddenly self conscious as I fingered the numerous marks over my body, even going so far as to untie the pants, to check the darker, larger bites that littered the inside of my thighs. For some reason I was embarrassed by the marks, even a bit proud of them in a way... I had never really paid attention to any marks given to me my Shadow, since they required red potion to heal most of them, no longer being classified as a 'love mark' or something of the like, no, they were always injuries to me... Injuries that I disliked, I hated being injured, feeling vulnerable and like I failed. Everything was so different now... the looks he gave me, the way he physically looked, the way he held me and ... _made love to me _because it could be called that, last night it was as if we were actually lovers, instead of to war-hardened generals looking for a night of pleasure, usually coated with more pain than I had ever experienced on the battlefield.

It was so different, and my gut dropped even more as I realized that in my slightly panicking moment of wondering 'what if this isn't Shadow?' someone in the hallway had walked up to the door, their steps echoing as I hastily pulled my shirt down, hands fumbling to pull pants up as I tried to press myself against the wall, hoping to be unnoticed and for Shadow to wake up from his lazy slumber. I hissed his name twice, glancing back and forth from the bed to the door that led to the first sitting room, it having been closed, and apparently locked sometime in the night since the door jiggled slightly before the jingling of keys hitting each other pierced the quiet dawn air.

"Good mornin' Sheik, time for you to giddup! You've got a bath waitin' for ya filthy back and we got a lot of questions for ya to... to..." it was Nabooru, laden down with towels, who was gapping at the bed, where the drowsy blonde man was sitting up, yawing and rubbing his eyes. The Gerudo had an amusing facial expression as she gaped at the man, the bed sheets only covering his hips, leaving his chest which was dotted with marks I had left in my blind passion last night, for all the world and Nabooru to see.

Her nose twitched as she glanced over at me, her eyes widening even further as she took in my appearance. I assumed my tussled hair and posture along with the still-yawing man on the bed and the heavy smell of sex added together quite quickly in the woman's head as she glared fiercely at me. "You sly lil' fox! You seduced 'im have ya? You've robbed the poor boy of his innocence, that you 'ave! Oh Link! You poor, poor boy, what did he do to you?!" The woman rushed to the bed, pulling a very flustered 'Link' out of bed, the man barely having enough time to grab a sheet to cover himself with as the woman pulled his face to her chest. I supposed I would have been amused by the situation had I not been sickened by the sudden terror in my stomach at her familiar behavior towards who I thought was...

I barely registered the sounds of hurried footsteps and the door of the sitting room open as I pressed myself against the wall, eyes boring into the face of this 'Link' person. I heard calls of that man's name as several more people stepped into the room; I ignored them, even as curious gazes bored into the side of my head, a few questioning me. I felt my mouth move without my consent, voicing the obvious.

"You aren't Shadow, are you?"

All eyes were on me then while I stared at the man in front of me, my expression schooled into a deadpan while Link carefully pushed Nabooru out of the way, rewrapping the blanket around his middle section as he opened his mouth to supposedly speak. But the Gerudo woman intervened, possibly angered at having so easily been pushed aside. "Like hell he's that bastard! This here is his brother, the owner of the house, the estates, the servants and you. Geez, do you know nothin' Red 'yes?"

Bastard. Brother. Owner. Thoughts swiveled through my head, making me dizzy and nauseated as stared at some point in the wall past the red head's face, lost for a moment as I digested the new information. I crooked smile formed on my lips as I leaned up and off of the wall, calmly turning to dip my head in the blonde haired man's direction. I was moving automatically, my mind seperate from my body as it opened its mouth.

"Well, glad to know that I was fucked by the one who bought me for that purpose instead of some stable boy. I believe you mentioned a bath before questioning Nabooru..." I trailed off, turning away from the two figures near the bed, coming face to faces with the other Sheikah, Impa, the Goron I had tossed Saria to and to a new face, it was a Zora, with quite the ferocious expression on her face as her fins twitched in what I supposed as anger. I tilted my head politely to my blood sister, her red eyes trying to look into mine, and I glanced at the Goron as I strode past her, the rock-eater stepping out of the way as well to let be pass to the door, where the Zora stood, blocking the exit.

"You... How dare you sleep with my husband!" was the first sentence I ever heard from Ruto's mouth, followed by a high pitched declaration that I was a whore and some other obscenities that had the other occupants of the room quaffing as I simply stood there, eyebrow raised as I waited patiently for her to finish some long rant about how she was supposed to be the one with Link, not me. I almost laughed at the sheer stupidity of the Zora; I voiced my opinion, hoping my Hylian was as clear and understandable as I hoped.

"I just did what I was bought to do, and I can see why he bought me if you really are his wife, how do fish reproduce after all?" I might have meant the comment to bite but I had kept it monotone and bored, my eyes flicking here and there as I spoke, the motion of her hand in my peripheral alerting me to her action to slap me or something. I grabbed her forearm with my right hand, my left grabbing her thigh as I simply swung her around and tossed her to my 'owner' who fumbled, nearly tripping over the bed sheet around his waist in order to catch her. The Zora was fuming, screaming her head off as she threw a temper tantrum about punishing me or something;

Offering a simple smirk to the outlandish looks I received from the occupants of the room, "You, Link was it? You need to keep a better leash on your whores. Soon they'll be thinking they own you instead of the other way around." With that I swiveled on my heel, walking briskly out of the room and out of the sitting room, out into the hallway where life was already springing up all over the place. First stop: bath. I needed to get the scent and seed of that man off of me. I questioned a male servant quickly, the man eying me warily before answering me and walking off. I followed his directions further into the house where there was a wooden carved door, decorated with scenes of mystical water creatures and the like on its surface.

The door was slipped aside, I creeped in and closed the door behind me, glad that no one had been bothered to follow me after the escapade with the Zora. All except my fellow Sheikah of course, she had been keeping a stern eye on me, probably giving me a harsh frown or something of the like while I looked around the open air bathing area, the wide pool set up to look like a small spring or something, or maybe it was natural, the house having been built around a spring? Regardless, the tree grew over a section of the bath, its roots making innate seats to rest against.

I spotted a small showering area, the ground giving way to nicely laid tile and a small hand pumps lined the walls to get the water pumping through the pipes and out of the shower heads. I strode quickly to one of the stalls, the walls coming up just over my waist line as I stripped quickly, folding the spoiled clothes. I placed them on the ground outside of my open shower stall before turning back to the hand crank, grabbing the handle and began pushing it down and pulling up to get the pump working. The water clicked on, cold and brisk as I continued working the crank so that the water wouldn't stop halfway through my shower. I glanced over the different soaps and such that had been left in the stall from previous users, picking up and sniffing some of the wax-made soaps, picking out ones that had no scent. I tried to shower quickly, plucking off the rubbery strings of cum.

While I scrubbed the substance off of my abdomen and thighs I glanced about the open air bathing courtyard, looking around briefly for that Sheikah woman, that had followed me, she hid herself well, that was for sure. It took about 3 minutes of scrubbing my body clean to locate her finally; she had hidden herself within the tree's vast tangle of branches, the shadows cloaking her form easily.

Unabashed by her presence I stepped out of the shower stall, grabbing a towel in passing before I walked over to the spring, laying the towel by the side of the pool before slipping in to the cold water. I was comforted by the fact that she seemed to be a hardened Sheikah warrior, serious, and would only comment or question me in a flat, business tone, instead of teasing me or something. She waited for about 5 minutes until I spoke to her in our tongue, asking her to come out of the tree and to question me.

The woman landed gracefully on a rock across from me, crossing her legs and sitting down to make herself comfortable. She was quick to the point, her blunt questioning was a relief from the beating around the bush I had seen many a Hylian use to try and get around reporting a troubling affair on the war front or a failure on their part.

"**How do you know Shadow?"** her crimson eyes bored into mine and I tilted my head slightly at her question, I had expected something along the lines of 'Why did you join Ganondorf's army?' or 'Why are you not bound by Blood Oath, you bare no marking of it on your body.' Something about me, rather than him.

Our eyes were locked with each other, waiting for the other to submit or lose focus for a second, a silent battle of wills and power, all conveyed from the eyes. The door leading to the room creaked open, though I didn't move, neither did the other participant of this staring contest. The tension in the air was thick, and eventually I found myself wanting nothing more than to relax in the cool pool and go get some sleep. I blinked slowly at the woman, my posture slacking as I gave a deep sigh, relenting from the battle for now.

I began in Sheikah, it was easier for me to speak in, and less thought put in to spit out the words quickly and to be done with the matter. **"I assume you've already searched for information on me?"** It was best to know how much she knew before I went off, I held no ties to either side of the war, Ganondorf was simply the first to request my services, the Royal Family having either been killed or put into hiding, not sending any calls for Sheikah protection.

Her answers troubled me, she said they knew of my birthparents, the location and circumstances of my birth in Kakariko before I was shipped off to the Gerudo in the neighboring country Termina at age 7. She even rolled off a few of the fields I excelled in before I journeyed back to Hyrule in time to join the invading Gerudo army at age 17, quickly rising through the ranks as I left a bath of blood behind me. She charted off major battles I had been in, the execution of the Hylian King that I witnessed, the fall of Death Mountain where I had lead a smaller band of warriors around the crags of the mountain to attack the mobilizing forces of the Gorons who had been coming to the aid of the Hylian forces. She spoke in a slow monotone, letting it hit me in the face just how many battles I had been in, how many people I had killed, how many innocents fell by my blade. But I didn't regret it. Not one bit. It gave me purpose, when I had no master Ganondorf came along, he gave me a goal and a job and it filled the boredom of peace.

"**Well, you've certainly done your research, but you should be able to answer your own question. He was the Lieutenant General of the Third Division; I was the Brigadier General of the Special Operations Squads, the Thirteenth Brigade. As such we often consulted with each other and the Fourth and Fifth Divisions before a major attack. The Fifth usually ran distraction, the Fourth kept the remnants of the opposing army under pressure whilst the third invaded enemy lines to retrieve insurgents and the likes: basically to grab the Thirteenth Legion operatives and escort them back to base." **

It appeared that the staring war had begun anew as her eyes bore into my own, trying to intimidate me into admitting _something_. But I hadn't the faintest clue as to why she or anyone besides the ashen-skinned warrior's brother would want to know about my affairs with him.

A small cough from the side interrupted our leveled gazes, Impa turning slightly to properly face the offender. One of her thin white eyebrows arched slightly, cuing the person to speak. They answered in our tongue, "Impa, let's leaving that kind of questioning for another day... okay?" It was Link that had spoken, I had forgotten that he knew our tongue, the woman simply nodded before rising to her haunches, magic stirring through the air as she whipped a small object at the ground, the teleportation sending her to wherever she wished.

I envied her a bit right then, the pathways in my body that allowed magic to flow through and be used in spells had been burnt out in the taking of the kingdom do the south, there had been mages stationed and my Squad had gotten caught in the crossfire of their casting, I ended up having to draw too much from the ethereal river, the semi-physical magic runoff from the River of Time which powers all forms of spell casting, and ended up burning the pathways closed.

I could no longer tap into the river, but I could still feel it surge slightly when Impa used the Deku Nut, the magic stored within the small kernel allowed more energy to be taken from the river and to be used for the complicated, magic-consuming teleportation.

By the time I finished running through the small memory and observation, Link had managed to slip into the spring, the ripples against my skin being what brought me out of my thoughts. I had been staring intently at the rock where Impa had been for the last 10 minutes it seemed. I briefly pondered getting out of the bath at his arrival but instead I twisted slightly, swimming deeper into the roots of the tree above me, my warrior senses didn't like the position, it would be near impossible to escape should Link or someone corner me in the roots, though the spring was deep, I could probably just swim under the roots... I was cut out of my distracted thinking by more ripples as the blonde floated towards where I had previously sat, he was staring up at the clouds above as he started to speak.

* * *

I'll start responding to reviews here from now on as the system of sending private messages here on ff is weird, confusing, and irritating for me. Plus, I'm in pain from my new braces that are wearing holes in my cheeks and tongue so I really can't be bothered with it.

Namari: Thank you, I hope I don't get the block either ; Though usually what happens is I plan too far ahead and I like it in my mind and can't be bothered to write it down XD And it does seem that we torture the ones we love (Sheik is my favourite character in OoT and I play as him all the time in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl I never lose :D)

Boska: Can I hug you? You made me cry tears of joy with your amazingly long, nice review and critique! I'm glad that you don't mind my version of 1st person point of view, I knowI personally hate most 1st pov Sheik fics because they are angsty with Sheik cutting/stabbing himself of having a mope-fest because he's having an exsistential crisis our is unsure if Link likes him or not. I tried to avoid this overly used pattern like the plague, I really haven't found any kind of fic where that is proper behaviour. I'm glad you could feel Sheik's emotion, I was worried I had overdone it, but I'm comforted that it got all the feeling and hate across nicely.

I wouldn't know if I'm a prude or not, but I managed to write the sex scene in about 2 nights full of much blushing with Mr. J explaining male anatomy and mechanics to me so that it was realistic and not as fakely sugar-coated as many fanfictions make it out to be. Your review was a delightful chocolate-chip cookie reward :3 I'm astounded that I made you break your habit of reviewing on the 3rd chapter and WIPs, I'll try not to let you down! Thank you very much, Tsuchi.


	3. Chapter 3

As promised, an update this weekend XD

This chapter went by slowly given that I lost my lighter-of-fires-under-my-butt a.k.a. Mr. J :/ But also because school started for me and I'm currently 2 weeks in and already swamped with work, curse you college prep high school!

Anyway, enjoy this chapter, please inform me of anything you liked/hated, thought was well written or didn't make sense. etc.

Keep in mind that this is a first person recap, so it'll occasionally switch back to where the narrator addresses the audience/will switch tenses.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, Shigeru Miyamoto a.k.a THE BOSS does.

A/N: Yeah, I'm sick, it's hard to breathe D; Song of the Day: Shinseiki by Kagamine Len

_Previously on Sanctuary in the Harem:_ _I had been staring intently at the rock where Impa had been for the last 10 minutes it seemed. I briefly pondered getting out of the bath at his arrival but instead I twisted slightly, swimming deeper into the roots of the tree above me, my warrior senses didn't like the position, it would be near impossible to escape should Link or someone corner me in the roots, though the spring was deep, I could probably just swim under the roots..._ _I was cut out of my distracted thinking by more ripples as the blonde floated towards where I had previously sat, he was staring up at the clouds above as he started to speak._

Chapter Three: The Apple

"You two were lovers weren't you? The way you spoke last night... kind of hinted me off..." I couldn't restrain myself around the man, I snorted as I shifted around the thick roots, leaning my back against one while my feet were planted firmly on a submerged one. "No. We may have had intercourse with each other, but by no means were we lovers, boy. When I get my hands on that man he'll pay for selling me out..." I bit my lip harshly, not meaning to get so infuriated at the mention of that man, of what he did to me. I hadn't meant to confide to the blonde either.

I could hear the water swish as I assumed the Hylian stopped floating on his back, my back was to him, my eyes following the contours of different roots as the ripples stopped. I frowned, not liking that I didn't have my eyes on the man as he spoke again from somewhere to the right.

"It didn't sound like you were going to kill him last night; you thought I was my brother after all, right? Was it a one-sided love then? Did he betray you?" the questions were spoken innocently, not a tint of maliciousness in them or taunting, just pure curiosity. But it still made my gut broil in anger as memories of that night reminded me of all I had lost because of the trust I had placed in the one man that had caught my fancy in the most horrible way. I gulped; willing my emotions to go back to their jail cell, as I somberly watched my long hair float in the water around me as I slunk further into the liquid, my nose almost touching the fluid as my hair fanned over the surface before dipping down under, still and haunting. I gingerly grabbed a couple of locks, absentmindedly swinging them through the water, back and forth as locks spread and twirled under the water, reminding me of pristine women in fine dresses twirling about.

I bit my lip again, so enthralled with the show of my hair that I barely noticed arms wrap around my torso, pulling me sideways onto the bare lap of my owner. My warrior instincts didn't stir, quiet and still as I continued to play with my hair in the water my gaze remaining unbroken from the swirls of gold, orange and silver, all mixed together and shimmering under the surface. A pair of lips kissed my cheek and startled me out of my reverie, it was such a small whisper of skin on skin that I was half surprised that it was the feather-kiss that had alerted me to Link pulling me into his arms, and not the actual action of bumping against his chest and floating a bit over his lap where he had sat on one of the submerged roots.

I looked at him, for the first time, I actually analyzed his features, his cheek bones were less hollow, his skin while not as tan as my own, was still sun kissed, not the unhealthy tone of his brother. He had freckles dotted over his skin, a small pale cluster dusted over the bridge of his nose and cheeks, his nose wasn't as sharp, his lips more of a tan-pink than the dark grey-tan of his brother's. His ears were rounded at the tip, eyes were more rounded, younger looking and not narrowed in disgust or anger or anything remotely negative. He just grinned at me, blue eyes twinkling and making me wonder what made him so happy during this time of war, and why he was staring so obnoxiously, so intently, at me.

I voiced my question on the origin of his cheerful attitude and the smile dimmed a tad, the twinkling eyes unguarded, showing the world and me his sad, forlorn look. I kept my flat gaze and expression on, trying to figure out what he reminded me of in that instant... it was like he was a child, so open about his feelings and so easily hurt because of it, I marveled at sheer existence of such a man in this day and age.

Blonde hair swung about as he shook his head, fat droplets of water landing on my face eliciting a tiny hiss from me at the cold water on my warm face and shoulders. I glared to the side at him, puffing my chest out in anger when he started laughing at the sound I had made. I seriously was questioning where my self control had gone as I sent a tidal wave of cold spring water on a crash course towards his face, kicking off out of his lap as I back pedaled away from him and any attempts at revenge. He sputtered for a few moments, rubbing and wiping water and hair out of his face that was covered with surprise and shock. He stared at me, dumbfounded, before his mouth twisted into a playful smirk, his eyes flashing mischievously, nothing like the 'mischievous' looks that his brother had given me. He slunk forward through the water towards me, blowing bubbles under the water at me as he waggled his eyebrows. I had no idea what he was doing but it was amusing, it was light and I found myself wrapping my arms around a nearby root to keep from drowning as I laughed heartily, my eyes scrunching up and my dimples undoubtedly showing.

My laughing slowed and died as he reached towards me from behind, arms slinking around my chest and lips planting on the corner of my jaw as he smiled at me, eyes twinkling again, obviously pleased with himself. I wiggled in his arms, sliding down deeper in the water, the coolness brushing over my warming face as I swam down and away from the blonde man. He had too much power over without me losing focus; I had to get out of here, fast.

...but first food, my stomach was starting to pain me, clenching and clearly alerting me to the need to be filled as I surfaced meters away from the tree. While in the army I had lasted for a week and a half without food, but I had plenty of water at the time, now however, after a year of petty nutrition and water, with the chance of filling-food and drink, I was severely tempted to feast. Besides, if I was to escape out of this large dungeon cell, I had to have energy and stamina. I heard the sound of Link following me as I swam to the shore where my towel laid neatly. My clothes were gone though, replaced by what I assumed was a new set for me along with another pile for Link, two pairs of shoes placed behind the folded clothes.

Lifting myself out of the water I snatched the towel, rubbing myself off quickly as I focused on the clothes, the quiet splashing getting closer to me. I sorted through the clothes that I assumed were mine, given the shoes next to them were smaller and the clothes seemed more... _dainty_.

I pulled on the under cloth first, covering my more private parts before the cream under shirt, I snarled minutely in distaste. It was frilly. It had a high _frilly_ collar and it had what seemed like 100 small little buttons grouped in twos, the _frilly_ cuffs had 10 buttons at least on each. It would do till I could get different clothes, I huffed minutely at the article of clothing after trying to close at least a few of the buttons before grabbing the black pants, they weren't baggy by any means, but at least they weren't form-fitting. The cloth was soft and gave me enough room to move and maneuver. I grabbed the red vest with gold thread embroidery and slipped my arms through it, not bothering to close it as I tugged on the soft leather boots, frowning at the small heel they had, I was not fond of such shoes considering in the last year I had no footwear and the years before my uniform boots had very thin soles so that they made no sound and allowed me to feel the ground around me better.

While I was examining my clothing and finishing lacing my boots Link had pulled himself out of the spring. We were both silent as I tried again to get the buttons to snap close, I couldn't leave with my shirt open... there were too many marks on my chest and I could feel sensitive skin around my neck, a hint that there were even more bruises in that area.

Plus my pride wouldn't allow me to show such marks; I hadn't liked the medic seeing me in such a state when I had returned from a visit with the Lieutenant General. But after the frequent visits to me tent to bring me doses of potions, sterilizing and numbing mixtures I had come to know the boy well. I figured he was a few summers younger than me, or at least he appeared to look younger.

When I first met him he had short brown hair that always stuck out in different directions but by the time I had "left" the military, his hair had grown out to between his shoulder blades in the back, the front staying short and unruly. He kept the back hair tied up with a piece of thin leather almost all the time, I often wondered if he had only grown it out to match my own, I never got a chance to ask him though. The medic's name was Aiel; he had drilled it into my head to stop me from calling him 'boy'.

Mentally he was a mixture of an adult and child, but he didn't have the chaotic mind of a teenage awash with emotion and growth. He had a calming personality, he often told stories while he worked, be they actual events or made up adventures or even mystical legends. He didn't ask me about how I obtained such injuries, he merely healed them for the first year, it wasn't until halfway through the second that we started chatting during these periods of midnight to dawn when he worked that we became friends.

Before then though, when he had tried to clean where the brunt of the damage was done, in my private regions, I had smashed a glass potion bottle over his head, of course he laughed about it then and even I joined in the laughter a year and a half later when we were reminiscing. Even after my many attempts (and a few guilt-filled successes) to halt his healing of said areas, he continually used his position as a doctor and a few gory, detailed and horrific descriptions of what would happen if I left the flesh and muscle inside my posterior untended...

That had been enough to get me to consent enough for him to quickly slip the sealing, disinfectant and numbing agents into the area, letting the slightly magically-tinted herbs and such do the majority of the work. I had never been one to shy away from blood and gore on the battlefield, it had appealed to my lust for war and revenge, but when it was me that was the victim, the one bloodied and bruised, I detested it.

As two years came and went we remained friends, the young medic sort of looked up to me, he had admitted to me while fixing a broken bone and torn joint in my left arm that he always wanted to be a solider but that he had bad lungs, running half of a mile left him winded and his vision spotted with black dots. So he had been forced to train as a medic instead. I had replied with a-

My mental break to go back through my memories was broken as cool knuckles brushed my chest, my eyes focusing on the rounded point of a peach-fuzz covered chin and strong jaw line. I scoffed, in my absence I guess I had been staring into space my hands ceasing to move around the small buttons. Link had finished putting on his own elaborate clothes though I spent no time looking at them, they were similar to his last pair only in a different color, a deep blue with silver trim and a multitude of small silver clasps holding the blue fabric closed. A belt of leather here and there, matching his simple gauntlets and boots, which had the same heel as my own only a bit wider, just as embroidered but less feminine.

His clothes were even more ornate than mine yet it seemed he had slipped them on in no time. I was frustrated at the clothes, I was not a woman. He should know best, all things considered, and I snarled this at him, slapping his hands away as I wringed my hair out before simply tying it in a knot twice and moving to walk past him. He made a quick movement to stop me and I pivoted, driving my right hand up I brought the heel of my palm up into his jaw as he grabbed my left bicep. I struggled backwards, trying to writhe my way out of his grip before planting my right foot, the left kicking sideways, aimed for the chest, and I managed to wind him as he temporarily released my arm, falling to the ground.

Unfortunately, in the act of raising one's leg up high enough to connect with the sternum, the muscles in the back contract as you lean to the side for balance, the thigh muscles stretch on the underside and constrict on the top. While the warm shower had eased some of the tenderness and tension from my lower muscles they still lacked the flexibility needed to perform the high kick without any backlash. So I ended up with a bolt of electricity going up and down my spine and legs, rebounding in my feet before traveling up to my chest and neck. I also ended up with my leg muscles locking and to put it simply, I landed on my ass.

I clenched my neck and facial muscles, grinding my teeth while I glared needles at the blonde that was rubbing his chest, staring at me from the ground a couple of feet away from me. His lips twitched and for a moment it looked like a snarl except his eyes were sparkling again it was my only warning before he started laughing, eyes scrunching as he continued rubbing his apparently-not-so-badly-hurt-or winded-chest.

How dare he! This stupid, pig-faced adolescent was laughing at me! Fire flooded my veins as I somehow calmly got to my feet, straightening and hardening both my gaze and gait as I strode towards the exit. The vest's buttons were larger, and less in number, making it easier for me to clasp them closed before reaching the door, opening it wide with a firm shove. Grass drying in the winter weather crackled noisily as I was pursued by the blonde twin, I left the spring room, taking a left and striding quickly away from the sound of boots hitting the ground after me.

He caught up with me, his brisk jog settling into the quick walk of my gait, he said nothing, nodding and smiling here and there to servants that called out to him, giving deep curtsies and bows to their passing master and Hylian lord. All races were assembled in the servants, most were Hylian in livery, numbering close to them were Gerudo in their own version of livery. The warrior women nodded to Link as we passed, their smiles fading as they looked at me, golden eyes boring into my own before they dissolved back into conversation. The Zora scattered through the long halls were garbed in loose fitted blue tunics; some had small pieces of coral and pebbles carved into jewelry and such that would clink and tinkle together when they dipped their heads, fins flicking in a supposed greeting. Their pupil-less fish eyes unnerved me...

Of course as each group of differing species greeted their Lord on the way to the dining hall he would try to introduce me or explain to me who so-and-so was only to find me striding away at a brisk walk, never stopping when he paused to answer a greeting given to him. I felt horrible walking down these pristine walls with the numerous sconces being put out as the sun climbed up into the sky, it was too clean here... I longed for the small tents and muddied battlefields, of rebel encampments and their guards that I had to sneak past undetected. I wanted freedom again, to be free to hurl myself into the trench disconnecting the Gerudo Valley and the rest of Hyrule, so free fall through the air as the red canyon walls tumbled and swirled with the clear blue sky of the desert, breath being stolen from you as you hit the chilled waters of the river below. Here, there was only domestication, fences, houses, fancy clothes with illogical frills and buttons, etiquette and greetings.

Anger, so much anger... I had always held such control over myself, mind and body but... Why, of all times, why now did I have to lose that small grip I had over my own life? Had I just recently lost it? Or had I really lost it the night I was sold into slavery? Was it the dawn I lost my ability to use magic? Or was it as far back as the first time I had met Shadow? Or even the moment I entered this bloody war?

The fewest species represented were the Gorons, only a few pausing in their waddling around to call out in loud, gravely voices to Link, who for some reason tensed up drastically when one made a wide gesture that looked like an invitation to a hug. Of course, he wasn't the only one to tense, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, as I eyed the Gorons out of my peripheral vision, trying to avoid their attention as I continued walking past. I had been there when the species had been decimated... as the leader of a legion of insurgents I had snuck past the Goron City to reawaken the Lava Dragon, Volvagia.

The smell of food, drink and the chattering of people faded in as we approached the dining area. The said smells and sounds had seeped through the cracked tall, dark wooden banquet hall doors carven with images of what I assumed were the three Golden Goddesses creating the earth and its inhabitants. Where the doors would have met when closed was the Triforce, currently split in half. I only knew of the insignia of the Goddesses thanks to the Hylians' obsession with the legend of the relic of the gods, and the symbol had been everywhere before the siege of Ganondorf. The Hylian's also had an apparent knack for detailed architecture, as opposed to the Zora and Gorons who altered as little as possible of the environments they lived in.

He would be catching up with me soon, I would have to work fast, snatch some supplies from the kitchen, and leave through the back door and scope out potential escape points. I had a whole day to prepare; I would be gone at night fall.

Even with a set plan in mind, I was antsy, nervous even, about my next shot at freedom, but currently the clenching in my gut was at the prospect of walking through a large group of people to gather some food for myself. Steeling my expression, posture and gait I walked calmly through the threshold.

As an insurgent, as a shadow, and dare I say, as a Sheikah, you did not want to be seen by any and I sure agreed with this concept as the din of talking and clanking of goblets and silverware halted, raucous noises all but dieing save for the crisp clicking of my heels on the stone floor. I did a quick sweep of the room for armed guards, though I found none save the stray person with a meat knife about to serve others a slice of morning ham.

My eyes strayed upward for a brief moment, the ceiling rafters where thick with large beams supporting the roof above it would have been a wonderful hiding spot if I had been able to reach it. Every 5 feet there was a large arched window, in my mind I paid no heed to the figures in the stain glass; to me they were just multiple escape points to use if the occasion and need arose. There where two columns of tables in the hall which lead to the other side of the room where I assumed the kitchens, my destination, were. I leveled my gaze with a point on the back wall, planning to make a beeline to the other side of the cavernous hall.

A wash of green, blue, gold, black and brown eyes hit me, all staring critically, time seeming frozen as serving girls paused mid-stride, conversation still on the lips of the gossiping kitchen hands that were handing food to the girls at the end of the hall. It was almost as if I was the only one not affected, the only one on 'play' as I walked, hopefully with grace and no limp apparent to the crowd's eyes, towards the open archways leading to the kitchen which framed the heads and faces of curious cooks and helpers that had gone to see what caused the sudden hush.

Some gaped, some scowled and some simply stared as I stopped, standing before the crowded doorway that lead to the kitchen, the cooks and such not budging as I stared at them nonchalantly. Whispering started to grown then as I had a staring contest with 10 Hylians and a Gerudo, I couldn't back down, in front of the whole estate I had to keep my pride and honor, or at least the illusion that I was in control, that I still had my power to dictate those who lived and those who died. There was a long minute as the whispering increased, as motion seemed to sludge back, and in a crashing instant there was a great boom from within the kitchen followed by a loud voice hollering obscenities which caused the kitchen hands to glance worriedly at each other before scurrying back to their abandoned work.

This left me with no one to halt my progress as I stepped up the solitary step into the tiled kitchens. The tiles on the ground were a simple blue, the rest of the large room wooden with great shelves lined with pots and pans ranging in sizes, metals, and degrees of wear and tear.

Three large hearths lined the wall opposite of me as I glanced about for fruits or vegetables and such that could be eaten with out preparation and on the go. I walked around the first of two large tables where meats and spices were being cut and crushed, intent on snatching a bag of apples that had caught my eye. A large Hylian woman however, stepped between me and my target, she had an air of superiority about her, her blue eyes narrowed at me, arms crossed over her chest I she stared levelly at me. I eyed the meat cleaver she had gripped loosely in one hand warily before locking our eyes like I had with her assumed kitchen hands.

"What d'ya want murderer?" For our first meeting it was apparent that me and the head cook weren't going to get along well. At the time I didn't know that I would regret that I never learned her name, just that she was originally from Kakariko and in his childhood, Link would often stop by her house for a hearty meal of soup, but when the old village burnt down, she and her family moved onto the estate where she became head chef.

But right now, all I could do in response was lift a thin eyebrow and make a vague gesture at the surrounding the kitchen. "I am here to get my breakfast and leave. So if you would step aside woman, I'll take what I need and be off." I was never really good when it came to speaking with people, more often than not I would have to plan what I was about to say otherwise what words came out were burlesque and rude. What can a Sheikah do though; I had learned most of my Hylian from the soldiers in service.

Regardless of the origin and reasons for my words, the large-statured woman took heavy offense and seemed to inflate with rage, her mouth opening, a jumble of obscenities and angry guttural sounds were the only things I was able to discern before she started waving the meat cleaver about.

I distanced myself from her immediately while she continued rambling off, screaming and waving the knife around but not making a move towards me. I glanced briefly at the kitchen hands to assure that they had not taken arms against me as well, they were staring with grim satisfaction at the scene before them, nodding and voicing their agreement.

The feeling of displacement that had sprouted in the hallway had bloomed in the dining hall and now had finally ripened into a sour feeling that made me wish to flee. Outnumbered, confined, out-weaponed, not strong enough... words and clips of phrases ran through my over-sensitive mind as I debated on how to disarm this tense situation. While one lady with a meat cleaver wasn't exactly the same as going up against the Dark Lord of Evil that towered 9 feet tall, if one underestimates their opponent and surroundings then they get sloppy and a lucky swipe on an artery could prove fatal easily. My eyes once again flickered over the kitchen, the warm air sticking to my skin underneath the restrictive clothing as I spotted a door opposite of me that was left ajar.

I rolled onto the balls of my feet, balancing for a second on the hells of my boots before throwing my whole body forward and to the side, first knees, then hips, torso and head, the momentum swinging me around the woman, my right hand snagging the lips of the bag of fruits and such while I dashed quickly through the kitchen, yells following my departure. I probably would have had to fight my way past the kitchen hands angrily reaching out at me as I passed if it weren't for the convenient questioning yell of a certain lord that had finally caught up to me. All hands in the kitchen turned automatically to him, bowing or curtseying quickly, this ten second automatic subservient reaction was all the diversion I needed as I dashed out of the door.

The bright light of day blinded me for a moment before I found my self staggering and running again, air whistling by me as I stretched my legs and arms out. My whole body seemed to mesh like the gears of a clock once again, each tuned and working perfectly together again, muscles no longer sore and stiff. Knee bend, kick out, torso lift, left arm out, soar, fall back, land, left leg push off, arm rise, fly.

I don't know how long I ran like this but I eventually found myself under a tree, about halfway between the first gate and the estate house. I climbed up into the privacy of its branches, straddling one of the higher ones before I finally pulled the burlap prize into my lap, pulling out one of the apples out and eating it quickly. By the time I got to my third apple I finally slowed down and enjoyed the taste of the fruit, it wasn't often that fresh rations were brought to the army encampments, even less time to find provisions while on stealth missions that occasionally took up to a half-year to complete. And in the slave encampments, the food was decent but there wasn't a whole lot of it to go around, it wasn't till I had been promoted to a higher quality slave that I had been fed regularly, enough for me to gain back the weight I had lost in time for the big slave trades.

It was slightly bittersweet, this apple, it left a aftertaste that I wasn't sure if I liked or not but soon I found it gone, having eaten pretty much everything on it, leaving only a thin sliver of a core dusted with seeds. It made me think, if I were to drop this seed in the ground somewhere, and cover it with dirt, would it grow into a tree? Or would it remain buried, decaying slowly in the ground like the people I had killed.

"murderer"

A single word. And yet it resonated so deeply with me. I wasn't a murderer though, was I? Even if I was, I wasn't a nation, a nation that had committed a genocide that had killed hundreds of thousands within a few civil wars over petty things such as land or dominion. Things that, in the end, didn't matter at all; we all started in the earth with nothing, we all end in the earth with nothing. Like the apple tree. It started as nothing but a seed it works its whole life to produce fruit which only gets stolen and eaten by other creatures until it finally dies either from natural causes like lightning striking it down or some farmer chopping it down for kindling.

I lifted the core up, my palm flat as I brought it up to eye level, "What a waste."

The remains of the fruit dropped to the ground underneath the tree.


	4. Update of Goodness

Hey guys, it's been awhile since I've updated for 'Sanctuary in the Harem' and I'm really sorry about that. How long has it been? 2 years? ECK. I can't really apologize enough for being gone so long, but I do have quite a few legitimate reasons for not uploading/writing. A couple of days after I submitted Chp. 3 my parents got divorced. There was a lot of (figurative) pushing and pulling about what would be done and unfortunately I had to stay with my mother as my dad wouldn't be able to take me to school cause of his work schedule.

Long story short: My mom has been bringing home boyfriends off and on for the last two years which vexed me emotionally, physically, all around exhausted me and infuriated me because she completely disregarded my opinions on the men she was bringing in and well… let's just say I had an intense class schedule as well, all honors classes in a college prep. School.

That was just Sophmore year, then Junior year came with all of the hassle of college searching, planning, convocations and countless meetings with college advisors.

Now its Senior year, I've sent in all of my applications, gotten into my first choice school, now I'm sending in letters of intent for scholarships, getting my medical records straight along with meetings for the honors program at my university.

I've been busy. And I thank you all for not sending in messages like "Why aren't you updating? GRAWH" I appreciate it.

Now to the point of the matter:

I WILL NOT BE ABANDONING THIS STORY. I intend to finish it this summer, but first I'm going back through it and making major revisions/improvements to the grammatical aspects and plot/flow of the story. I'm basically spit-shining it up.

However, this probably won't be update too often as I have one long-term and one-mid term length stories going on and I still have to finish my last quarter as a senior in high school~! Then I'm moving out to live at the beach :3


End file.
